The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.13.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on IPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE IPG opened at $31.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.13. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 12 month low of $27.20 and a 12 month high of $40.95. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $31.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a boost from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.24%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrew Bonzani sold 40,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $1,303,069.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 70,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,878.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $591,900.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 42,390 shares in the company, valued at $1,364,958. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrew Bonzani sold 40,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $1,303,069.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 70,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,878.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 249,646 shares of company stock worth $8,038,601. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IPG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 12.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,096,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $459,975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516,975 shares in the last quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.1% in the third quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,722,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $278,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204,630 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,291,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $266,286,000 after purchasing an additional 167,810 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.2% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,385,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,317,000 after purchasing an additional 414,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,922,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $225,954,000 after purchasing an additional 777,456 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company Profile

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc provides advertising and marketing services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Media, Data & Engagement Solutions, Integrated Advertising & Creativity Led Solutions, and Specialized Communications & Experiential Solutions. The Media, Data & Engagement Solutions segment provides media and communications services, digital services and products, advertising and marketing technology, e-commerce services, data management and analytics, strategic consulting, and digital brand experience under the IPG Mediabrands, UM, Initiative, Kinesso, Acxiom, Huge, MRM, and R/GA brand names.